4.  On 8 November 2006 the first applicant arrived at Prague airport by plane from Dakar (Senegal), having transferred in Lisbon. Immediately after his arrival, he applied for asylum. For the whole period of his stay in the Czech Republic, he was held at the reception centre for asylum seekers at Prague airport.
5.  In his application for asylum he submitted that in Guinea he had participated in a teacher’s strike and that subsequently police had come looking for him at home so he had had to flee. He feared that if returned to Guinea, he would be detained or even murdered. In a subsequent interview he specified that he had fled Guinea with the help of an employee of UNICEF, who also secured the assistance of a policeman.
6.  On 15 November 2006 the Department for Asylum and Migration Policy of the Ministry of the Interior (odbor azylové a migrační politiky ministerstva vnitra) dismissed his asylum application as manifestly unjustified (zjevně nedůvodná) under section 16(1)(e) of the Asylum Act without examining its merits, stating that the first applicant had arrived from Portugal, which was considered a safe third country.
7.  The first applicant applied for judicial review which, however, in cases rejected under section 16(1)(e) of the Asylum Act, did not have a suspensive effect. On 19 April 2007 he requested that those proceedings be terminated, which the Prague Municipal Court (městský soud) did on 31 May 2007.
8.  On 23 November 2006 the Prague-Ruzyně Aliens and Customs Police Service (referát cizinecké a pohraniční policie) ordered the first applicant to leave the country by 2 December 2006. As the applicant did not comply with the order, the Police Service instituted administrative expulsion proceedings against him.
9.  In the context of those proceedings the Police Service interviewed the first applicant on 3 December 2006. He reiterated that he could not return to his home country because he could be killed or injured there and would most likely be imprisoned. He submitted that he had been one of the initiators of a student demonstration in which several participants were killed. The Police Service also requested, as required by law, an opinion of the Ministry of the Interior as to whether there were any obstacles to the applicant’s removal. On 4 December 2006 the Ministry replied in the negative, stating that the first applicant was facing expulsion to Portugal, which was a safe country.
10.  On 4 December 2006 the Aliens and Customs Police Service issued an administrative expulsion order (správní vyhoštění) ordering the first applicant to leave the country within twenty days and prohibiting him from entering the Czech Republic for six months. It held that the first applicant had stayed in the Czech Republic without a valid visa after his asylum request had been rejected.
11.  On 28 February 2007 the Prague Aliens and Customs Police Directorate (ředitelství služby cizinecké a pohraniční policie) rejected the first applicant’s appeal, upholding the reasoning of the Aliens and Customs Police Service. The first applicant received this decision on 13 March 2007.
12.  On 15 May 2007 at about 4 a.m. and without prior notice, the first applicant was removed from the Czech Republic to Guinea by plane via Brussels. Later on, while the first applicant was in police custody in Guinea, his lawyer managed to contact him by telephone, but he refused to provide any information about his treatment in detention.
13.  The first applicant is currently living in Saudi Arabia.
14.  On 11 October 2006 the second applicant arrived at Prague airport by plane from Dakar (Senegal) with a transfer in Lisbon. He was denied permission to board a plane to Dubai and, subsequently, applied for asylum. During his stay in the Czech Republic, the applicant was held at both the reception centre for asylum seekers at Prague airport and the detention centre in Velké Přílepy.
15.  In his application for asylum he submitted that his father had been an active member of an opposition political party, Union for the New Republic, and had been detained and killed in 2000. After the death of his father, the applicant had created the Union for the Employment of Youth and became its president. He had continued to have contact with members of the opposition and his association had supported the trade unions. In 2006 a conflict began between the Government and trade unions and the Guinean Police had started looking for him.
16.  On 15 October 2006 the Department for Asylum and Migration Policy of the Ministry of the Interior dismissed the second applicant’s asylum request under section 16(1)(e) of the Asylum Act without examining its merits, holding that the second applicant had arrived from Portugal, a safe third country.
17.  The second applicant applied for judicial review and requested a suspension of the legal force of the administrative decision. He argued that according to the European Union Dublin Regulation, it was the Czech Republic that should process his request for asylum and not Portugal. Consequently, the Ministry should have considered the merits of his application.
18.  On 15 March 2007 the Prague Regional Court (krajský soud) upheld the administrative decision not to grant the second applicant asylum. It agreed with the reasoning that the second applicant had arrived from Portugal, which is a safe third country, and that he should have asked for asylum there. The court did not deal with the second applicant’s request for suspension of the legal force of the decision. The judgment was served on the second applicant on 10 May 2007. Having been removed from the Czech Republic before the expiration of the statutory time-limit, he did not appeal on points of law.
19.  On 22 November 2006 the Prague-Ruzyně Aliens and Customs Police Service ordered the second applicant to leave the country by 1 December 2006. As the second applicant did not comply with the order, the Police instituted administrative expulsion proceedings against him.
20.  In the context of those proceedings the Police Service held an interview with the second applicant on 3 December 2006 in which he reiterated his fears of returning to Guinea. It also requested, as required by law, an opinion of the Ministry of the Interior whether there were any obstacles to the second applicant’s expulsion. On 4 December 2006 the Ministry replied in the negative, stating that the second applicant was facing expulsion to Portugal, which was a safe country.
21.  On 4 December 2006 the Aliens and Customs Police Service issued an expulsion order against the second applicant prohibiting him from entering the Czech Republic for six months and ordering him to leave the country within twenty days. It held that the applicant had stayed in the country without a valid visa.
22.  On 2 March 2007 the Prague Aliens and Customs Police Directorate rejected the second applicant’s appeal, sharing the opinion of the Aliens and Customs Police Service. The second applicant was notified on 13 March 2007.
23.  On 15 May 2007 at about 4 a.m. and without prior notice, he was removed from the Czech Republic to Guinea by plane via Brussels. His lawyer was not informed about the removal beforehand and has not managed to reach the second applicant since then.
24.  On 30 November 2006 the second applicant had signed a power of attorney for Mr J. Větrovský, who is representing him in the proceedings before the Court, authorising him to take any legal action relating to his expulsion, including preventing the expulsion, and to make any claims arising from the situation, including, if necessary, representing him before the courts.